Half-siblings... it's complicated

Our adopted daughter came to us straight from the hospital and was adopted at 21 months old. She has brothers by blood and brothers by love. She has always looked at our bio children as her brothers. They are the ones who she will run to full force and jump into their arms, they are the ones that sit down and play with her or fix her something to eat if we are not around. They are her brothers and the bond is so tight it is just amazing to watch. Now her brothers by blood she too has a relationship with them. In fact, we get together with the three other families on a regular basis. There is no question of “does anyone else look like me?” because she knows the answer. She loves spending time with her blood brothers. She understands that they all came out of the same tummy. You watch the kids together and you see the same smile, same mannerisms, you see the connection. They have what you would call a cousin bond. As they get older they understand more and more the connections they have to one another. For the adoptive parents we have the benefit of someone to share medical information with and someone to ask “do you deal with this issue also?” Yes we adopted just one little girl but with her we extended our family by adding three additional families to our lives. I am not sure if you are upset because you feel forced to have the relationship or if you have no interest in having a relationship. It is so hard to explain but it is just a joy for us to have that connection. Not for one moment have I have regretted the choice we as a group made regarding contact. Our daughter is now 7 and she does get it. In the long run I truly believe keeping the connection with be a benefit for all of the kids. btw – she was adopted through foster care and none of the siblings had lived together.